Explained: Why Lewis Hamilton was handed a 10-second penalty during the F1 Mexican GP

Lewis Hamilton has been handed a 10-second time penalty during the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday for his incident with Max Verstappen. The 7x world champion has been deemed to have left the track and gained a lasting advantage in an incident which saw him cut the corner at Turn 4.

Lewis Hamilton started the Mexican GP in third and was able to hold position after a challenge from Max Verstappen on the first lap of the race. His old rival locked up on Turn 1 and cut the corner, but gave the place back.

But on Lap 8 of the race, Verstappen once again challenged Hamilton as he dove down the inside of the #44 Ferrari in the first corner, which meant Hamilton had to go wide. This battle carried on Turn 4 as the 40-year-old tried to hang it around the outside, but locked up and went onto the grass.

Hamilton rejoined the track with a significant advantage over Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli behind. This incident was investigated soon after.

But the decision came from the stewards on Lap 18, as they deemed that Hamilton gained a lasting advantage after going off track, as he was over three seconds ahead of the cars behind after doing so.

Verstappen was also noted for going off the track and gaining an advantage, as well as for causing a collision with Hamilton, during the aforementioned battle between the 2021 rivals. However, the stewards deemed the Dutchman not to be guilty of either of those breaches of the rules.

As of Lap 39, Verstappen has come out behind Hamilton in P8 after his late pitstop, as the 28-year-old has opted for the alternative strategy by starting the race on the medium tires. Hamilton has already served his 10-second penalty and came out of the pits outside of the points. But the driver is now already back into the points.

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Lewis Hamilton's reaction to receiving a 10-second penalty at the Mexican GP

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battling on track during the Mexican Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton was fuming after he was told that he had a 10-second penalty during the Mexican GP, claiming that the decision was "s***". The veteran also claimed that there was no grip down at turn 4, indirectly explaining that this was the reason for him locking up.

Upon being told by his race engineer that he had a time penalty, Hamilton replied, saying:

"That's some s*** man. The grip is so small there. The grip there is so low!"

The Ferrari pit wall told Hamilton that they did not agree with the penalty either. Hamilton’s hopes of securing his first Ferrari podium have taken a major hit after his penalty. He had been running relatively comfortably in P3 early on, but the setback let both Mercedes drivers and Oscar Piastri get ahead, making his task much tougher.

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar